Insects can be annoying pests when they take up residence in an inhabited building such as a home or office building. Many insects, such as flies, mosquitoes, roaches, moths, beetles, aphids, mites, ants, and so forth, are capable of disease transmission making this annoyance untolerable. To rid a building of such insects, it is well known that properly applied insecticide will eliminate an infestation and periodic application can prevent a repeat infestation.
It is also known that insecticide can be harmful to humans if improperly applied. Entrepreneurs have recognized this fact and built a large service industry oriented toward extermination of insects. Typically a single application of insecticide by a professional service organization will eliminate a large variety of known insects and new infestations repelled as long as a residual remains. However, problems associated with commercially applied chemicals include: the expense of paying for an outside service organization to treat a building, inconvenience of having to plan a schedule around an outside service organization, apprehension whether the service organization is applying chemicals of appropriate strength, and apprehension whenever a stranger is allowed into a private building.
Many homeowners do not employ the use of an outside service organization for one reason or another, instead relying upon commercially available insecticide products. These products are available in form of sprays, poisons, traps, aerosol canisters, and so forth. Each product taunted as the most effective according to the individual manufacturer. If applied according to instructions, most products are safe to use and just as effective as those professionally applied.
Whether an insecticide is applied professionally or by the homeowner, the most important aspect of the application is placement of chemical. For instance, a private home treatment may include spraying the interior and exterior baseboards and periodically treating the volume of the home by use of an ambient fogging device. A fogging device is a pressurized canister of insecticide that, when a releasing mechanism is engaged, atomizes a tiny jet of liquid in a venturi tube through which passes an ultra high velocity air stream. The air stream distributing the liquid throughout a room encompassing areas that sprays may not be able to reach. The fogging type device is arguably the most effective method in treating a volume of space. This is performed without the need for supervision as long as the fogger is maintained in a fixed position.
Despite the convenience of a fogger, the fogger is based on a petroleum product designed to encompass a particular square footage of area. A major problem with the fogger application is figuring out the square footage of a room, especially a room such as an attic whose ceiling is the underside of an angular roof. The result is a guess-estimate for placement of the fogger. However, if foggers are placed too far apart, the concentration will be insufficient to eliminate the insects. If foggers are placed too close to each other, a high concentration may result in an explosion triggered by conventional home appliances such as the gas pilot light of a dryer, stove, furnace, or even the inopportune spark such as a blown light bulb. Entire homes are known to be destroyed by the high concentration of fogger gas. Further, a fogger on furniture or carpeting causing permanent discoloration.
Yet another disadvantage to the use of either the sprayer or fogger is that neither is capable of penetrating walls or ceilings areas that are most likely to have the insect infestation. Insects in these areas are simply trapped in the cavity until the residual "barrier" dissipates allowing the insect to resume its normal activities.
Due to this situation, a chemical application must include those hidden areas such as the spaces between walls or in the ceilings if the application is to be successful. One method of treating a building is by enclosing it within a gas impermeable tent and injecting gas into the tent, a project best left for professionals. Another method is for the chemical applicator to crawl into the ceiling area and fog the area. A number of homes do not have direct access to the ceiling making this impractical if not impossible. Further, placement of a fogger within the attic requires the operator to quickly exit to avoid inhaling the gas while being careful not to disturb the insulation or fall through the ceiling.
One device addressing the problem of treating the wall cavity in home is addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,505 issued to Jackson. Jackson teaches a device utilizing a tapered aperture placed in a wall allowing chemical to be injection into the wall cavity. The device employs a tapered fumigant injection nozzle that is installed on a fogger and pressed into a corresponding aperture in the wall allowing the fog to enter the wall cavity. The drawback of such a device is that it requires the operator to hold the fogger container during the application thus limiting its application.
Another device addressing this problem is U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,673 issued to Lavelle which teaches a method of exterminating pests in the wall cavity. Lavelle places a horizontally mounted chamber into a wall having a means for placing a pest extermination substance therein. Insect are drawn to the chamber where they consume the substance. Such a device is based upon insect being drawn to the substance and does not present a means for reaching those insects are not attracted to the substance. Further, neither device teaches a means for extermination of insects in the ceiling cavity.
Of particular concern is the treatment of building employing ceilings forming a barrier between the occupied area and the roof This area is seldom disturbed and lends itself to a possible breeding ground for disease-transmitting insects. Many insects do not live in the wall cavity of a building but prefer the darkened areas of the attic, drop ceilings, and crawl spaces. These insects use the walls as a passageway to obtain food. If spraying is limited to the wall cavity, the insect will avoid the wall cavity until the insecticide dissipates. Spraying or treating the walls will not eliminate the insects when the nest and eggs are located in the ceiling.
Heretofore, no teaching is made of a device that allows simplified fumigation of cavities such as a ceiling or wall by use of a fogging device that can be inserted from one side of the wall, forms a sealed enclosure, and maintains the fogger canister is a predetermined position. While efforts have been made to address the above shortcomings, it is to the effective resolution of these shortcomings that the concealed fumigation apparatus of the instant invention is directed.